Beliefs should be like fluid entities within the mind, some malleable and doubtful, others more viscous and certain. But feeling certain should never be confused with being incontestable. Once a belief is allowed to solidify, it becomes like a shackle on the mind, inhibiting exploration, learning and growth. A fluid mind should never allow a belief to be so hardened that it is beyond rational scrutiny. A fluid mind always invites rational examination upon even its most cherished convictions.
“One thing that all of us have wrestled with is the inevitability of death and the brevity of any single life. Historically, our species has devoted enormous effort to confronting this and "working it out" in various forms, whether religious, philosophical, or mythological. The Christian "Heaven" is one example. Plato’s ‘World of Ideas’ is another. To dismiss all such concepts out of hand would be painfully provincial. The "prove it" attitude impoverishes imagination and stultifies discussion. On the other hand, both reason and imagination are empowered by open-minded reverence for the intellectual and imaginative legacy which our ancestors created and preserved for us. Myth is a major portion of that legacy.”
—Alexander Eliot
Copyright © 2025 Daniel G. Delaney